German auto manufacturer Volkswagen announced last week that it plans to invest as much as $2 billion in the development of electric vehicles as part of its "Dieselgate" scandal settlement.
The Business Insider reported that the amount will be spent within the next decade and be used to create 500 charging stations for the electric cars all over the United States.
It added that programs related to the promotion of electric vehicles, such as an electric car-sharing program, will also be introduced by the car manufacturer. The company will also sell 5,000 vehicles every year in California until 2025. This is in line with its emissions scandal settlement, where it is to participate in a zero emission vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure and awareness program.
An electric Volkswagen SUV is also in the works and will be released by 2020.
The Volkswagen program will most likely also include a ZEV-based shuttle service or a ZEV transit program, according to Reuters.
Reuters added that the company also unveiled The Electrify America LLC unit, a Volkswagen Group of America subsidiary specifically created to manage the investments that the company will make in the electric car industry. The subsidiary is based out of Reston, Virginia, and will employ 40 to 50 people that will be assisted by an outside contractor.
The Volkswagen emissions scandal, also called "emissionsgate" and "dieselgate", was reported back in September 2015. Volkswagen allegedly intentionally programmed turbocharged direct injection (TDI) diesel engines to activate certain emissions controls only during laboratory emissions testing, which caused the vehicles to pass the regulatory tests and standards but emit up to 40 times more nitrogen oxides in real-world conditions. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act to the German auto giant, culminating in a suit where Volkswagen is set to plead guilty on Feb. 24 to three felony counts as part of a plea agreement with the US Justice Department.
